Tuesday, April 22, 2014

US NAVY CARRIER DRONES

Following almost a year of delay, and gathering
more confidence with drone operations from carriers, the US Navy is
moving forward with Unmanned Carrier Launched Airborne Surveillance and
Strike (UCLASS) - the future carrier operated drones

The
X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS-D) completes preparations for
launching aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71).
Theodore Roosevelt is the third carrier to test the tailless, unmanned
autonomous aircraft’s ability to integrate with the carrier environment.
The future UCLASS will be optimized to operate with the new Ford Class
carrier (CVN-78) fitted with electrically rather the conventional steam
powered catapult, enabling safe handling of lighter aircraft. (U.S. Navy
photo by Heath Zeigler)

The four candidate designs considered for UCLASS depicted in this image published by the US Naval Institute (USNI)

Future drone attacks could be more pervasive and less constrained by access permissions and host country support, once the US Navy
goal to integrate unmanned systems capabilities on board its aircraft
carriers is fulfilled. Current operations, conducted by the CIA and Air
Force from land-based sites are constrained to the availability,
permission and security provided by host nations, bases that should be
located relatively close to the target and, hence, may compromise
operational security and operator safety. New generations of drones to
be operated by the US Navy from aircraft carriers could introduce a new capability, unbound by those restrictions.
Following
a year-long delay the U.S. Navy released a draft request for proposal
(RFP) for the Unmanned Carrier Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike
(UCLASS)
aircraft on April 17, 2014. The draft release was delayed due to
disagreements within the Navy, about the technical specifications for
the future unmanned aircraft. The final RFP is expected later this year.
The new carrier-operated drone is scheduled to enter service in the
early 2021.
Four prime contractors are participating in the competition – General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc, Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. All four have already been contracted to carry out preliminary studies of a UCLASS
type drone and are likely to submit their proposals for the final
design. The current draft RFP calls bidders to submit proposals for
design, development, assembly, delivery, testing and integration of the
air vehicles segment of the UCLASS system. Other elements are likely to include sensors, datalinks, command and control systems.
The
US Navy made history last year when the X-47B became the first unmanned
air vehicle to launch off the CVN-77 George W. Bush aircraft carrier’s
catapult and perform an arresting gear landing. In those cases the X-47B
was alone on the carrier. Moving forward, the Navy plans to continue
testing the unmanned drone operating as part of a carrier air group.
These flights are scheduled to take place in the Atlantic Ocean this
summer, aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71).

UCLASS
will be a key Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) asset
for future carrier air groups, enabling each carrier of the CVN-78 Ford
class to support two continuous ISR orbits at “tactically significant
ranges” over uncontested airspace.

In
preparation for these flights an X-47B carried out its first night
flight at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md. The
flights planned for this summer will be carefully scripted to measure
and account for any variables. The Navy will initially focus on
low-tempo operations but could sometime in 2015 intensify the tempo if
there is funding and an available aircraft carrier. Aircraft carrier are
normally operating on operational cycles of 12 hours each, and all
future unmanned assets would be required to align to these operational
tempo.
The UCLASS will benefit from lessons learned through these
evaluations. According to Rear Adm. Mat Winter, NAVAIR’s program
executive officer for unmanned aviation and strike weapons, UCLASS will
be a key Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) asset for
future carrier air groups, enabling each carrier of the CVN-78 Ford
class to support two continuous ISR orbits at “tactically significant
ranges” over uncontested airspace. The aircraft would have some stealth
capabilities to enable it to operate in ‘lightly contested’ areas.
The
Navy has budgeted the UCLASS capability at a $150 million per orbit.
Assuming that two air vehicles can cover one orbit (if that aircraft is
capable of flying for 14 hours), that means the maximum price point for a
UCLASS air vehicle is about $75 million, USNI said, quoting industry sources. According
to preliminary specifications released in June 2013 the goal for UCLASS
was to conduct two unrefueled orbits at 600 nautical miles (1,111 km)
or one unrefueled orbit at 1,200 nautical miles (2,222 km).
UCLASS
drones will also have moderate stealth characteristics and internal
payload carrying capacity to conduct light strike missions to eliminate
targets of opportunity. Additional roles for the UCLASS could also be
aerial refueling, albeit, given their limited payload capacity, such
missions could be relevant primarily for other UAS.
The original
spec called for a minimum payload capacity of 3,000-pound (1,360 kg), to
include electro-optic/infrared (EO/IR) surveillance and signals
intelligence capability similar to the current MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9B
Reaper. The Navy would also like to have a modular radar payload to
include synthetic aperture radar and moving target indicator (SAR/GMTI)
as well as maritime area search radar capability. In addition, the
aircraft will be able to carry 1,000 lbs (454 kg) of external load,
primarily weapons.

An
X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) demonstrator prepares to launch
from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN
77). George H.W. Bush was the first aircraft carrier to successfully
catapult launch an unmanned aircraft from its flight deck. (U.S. Navy
photo by Brian Read Castillo)

Part
of the Demonstrator Unmanned Combat Air System - Demonstrator (UCAS-D)
testing was to demonstrate how an unmanned aircraft can operate within
the crowded and complex carrier environment. In this photo the Northrop
Grumman X-47B is seen towed into the hangar bay on board the aircraft
carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) which was one of three carriers
that participated in the evaluation. Key design parameters of the UCLASS
program will be based on the lessons learned through the UCAS-D
evaluations. (U.S. Navy photo by Timothy Walter)

No comments:

Post a Comment

About Me

Over 20 years of continuous R&D "GIZMO'S & GADGETS DEVELOPMENT" including project engineering, design, research & prototyping development in all facets of technology especially communication systems. Published Author as well.
Also known as "Q".....The Gadget Man